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After Hours: Tapas Restaurants — A Sharing of Food, Atmosphere, Fun
Tapas originated in Andalucia, a southern province in Spain. Orginially meant to be a light snack in between the main meals, today tapas are increasingly becoming popular as the main meal. Certainly in Atlanta, tapas restaurants are popping up all over the area and, in fact, are offering up some of the best grub and overall dining experiences in town.
by Mary Welch
January 1, 2007
Tapas originated in Andalucia, a southern province in Spain. Originally meant to be a light snack in-between the main meals, today tapas are increasingly becoming popular as the main meal. Certainly in Atlanta, tapas restaurants are popping up all over the area and, in fact, are offering up some of the best grub and overall dining experiences in town.
Tapas are the ultimate way to share food with friends. The whole idea is to order several sumptuous delicacies to pass around, share and experience. What is so exciting is that tapas are visually appealing, enticing in their variety and reasonably price so as to allow a good sampling of the menu. They are truly the ultimate in an appetizer meal.
We first ventured to Ibiza where restaurateurs and husband-and-wife team Rafih and Rita Benjelloun (who also own the next door Moroccan-themed restaurant, Imperial Fez) greeted us with delicious food and conversation. “A restaurant should take you on a trip, a vacation,” he says. “ You should have all your senses transported to a different place. Going to a restaurant should entice and entertain the eyes, the nose, the taste – all the senses.”
Ibiza certainly does that. Entering the slender restaurant, the visual impact is evident and instantly transports one back to Morocco or Ibiza, the party-hearty island off the Spanish coast. White draped linens drop from the ceiling in rows while dark maroon and gold trimmed booths provide an intimacy that is undeniable romantic. Adding to the atmosphere is the Spanish/North African music.
But it is the food that conquers all. The menu is a delightful mix of tastes with something for all, including the nonadventurous eater. We ordered a wide variety of tapas but we must say that are favorites were the steamed mussels with red pepper, garlic and sherry wine sauce, the camarones al ajillos (sweet garlic shrimp) and the hummus spread served with flat bread.
Ibiza also offers its guests a hookah, or traditional Middle Eastern water pipe. With a variety of tobacco flavors offered, including apple, strawberry and mint, this unique experience soothes and relaxes partakers with a flavorful, refreshing taste. On Friday and Saturday nights, Ibiza features flamenco dancers and live music to entertain guests and add an authentic touch of Spanish culture to this Mediterranean haven.
We went to another tapas restaurant, Pura Vida, which is getting excellent notices around town. What a visual difference from Ibiza. Set in a variety of browns with dramatic artwork on the walls, The Virginia Highland restaurant offers a variety of appetizers whose inspirations come from the cuisine of the Latin Caribbean, South American and a little bit of Spain. Chef Hector Santiago, a native of Puerto Rico, and his wife, Leslie, run this wonderful restaurant. Pura Vida means “pure life” and the restaurant certainly is a place to celebrate good food, wine and friends.
What we noticed most about Pura Vida was that all the diners were deep into conversation. This truly is a restaurant that lives up to the tapas philosophy. People were sharing their food, yes, but also sharing their thoughts and having an intimate experience.
Pura Vida offers a wide sampling of tapas, including some exotic choices such as chivo al coca con mofongo de guineo, which is goat, slow cooked in coconut, with fried green banana mash, or foie perfumado al chocolate, which is fried spiced foie gras, dark chocolate with passion fruit ganache.
What is especially welcomed is that the menu offers a list of translations so that one learns that pepitas are pumpkin seeds and bacalao is salted cod fish.
We had several favorites at Pura Vida. We loved the agnolotti de malanga al huitacoche, which was pasta with a creamy malanga center and truffles in a brown butter sauce. The pasta seemed almost flash fried but was melt-in-your mouth delicious. Another surprise was the mushrooms in bay leaf oil, which succeeded in the delicate task of bringing out the flavor of mushrooms without being too overpowering.
Pura Vida is also more than food. On Fridays it has salsa, mambo and merengue music for one's listening and dancing pleasure. The first Wednesday of every month is gallery night where Latin American artists display their work and wine tastings are available for $10. The second and fourth Thursday of each month it's tapas and tango while Mondays means dominos and mojitos!
